1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a template for setting anchor bolts in concrete foundations; more particularly it relates to a reusable device that allows of a visual alignment of an internal top edge of each of a pair of form boards at an appropriate distance of internal separation and also provides an ability for a tieing into place of the tops of the form boards while simultaneously providing a support for holding an anchor bolt in an appropriate position within the stem wall form for a passage of an appropriate length of a threaded superior end of the anchor bolt in an upwards projection above a top surface of the stem wall and as well as through a hole in either a nominal 2.times.4 or a nominal 2.times.6 sill plate as well as a passage through and above an anchor bolt washer and nut, and, does so with a threaded end of the anchor bolt being afforded a protection against being fouled with cement and with a non-threaded base end of an anchor bolt to be held in a vertically true position and at an appropriate depth within the stem wall.
2. Description of the Relevant Prior Art
It is well known to pour concrete between a set of wooden form boards that retain a concrete material used to form a foundation for a building or to form a support foundation for a wall supporting roof elements attached to a side wall of a building. The wooden forms are used to retain the concrete while it reaches a cured state. Whether the forms are used with a lower section set down within a trench in the ground as is common with building foundations, or used at a ground level with a series of below ground weighted anchoring sections for walls supporting roof elements attached to a side wall of a building, etc., a series of wooden spacer bars that span across and are nailed into a pair of top surfaces of a pair of opposed form boards have conventionally been used to hold the tops of the form boards at a selected separation while the concrete is poured into the form during a curing process of the concrete.
In a trenched situation, a bottom width separation of the form boards is secured by a series of internal spacer boards placed in a situation at the bottoms of the form boards; in an above grade situation a series of upright stakes driven into the ground and nailed to a side aspect of the form boards serve to hold the form boards in a basically vertical alignment. The top edges in either instance require an additional support in order to maintain a selected width across a top of the stem wall. A series of wooden cleats nailed across the top edges of the form boards have been used historically, however they often provide unsatisfactory results because a weight of the poured concrete can spread the topmost edges of the boards, distorting the spacing of the form boards and leading to a failure to maintain a proper top width of the finished stem wall; factors involved in this failure include: a cracking of the cleats that allow spread around a set of cleat anchoring nails, or, an improper nailing due to haste, or an improper measurement caused by an operator trying to simultaneously hold the forms, cleat, hammer, nails and measuring device at the proper alignment in and between themselves; in any event, the procedure is expensive in terms of materials and time since it often takes the workman a significant amount of time to achieve proper spacing at the top edges of the form boards.
A set of angulated brace stakes can be used to provide an additional support to prevent spreading of the forms. These braces will of course end with a top section projecting up and over the tops of the form boards and above the top of the stem wall so they may provide an interference with a screeding, hand float finishing and edging of a top surface of cement in a poured stem wall.
Commonly, an above earth grade form alignment has process has involved a use of a plumb line to establish a height and alignment of one side wall following which that side of the form is then set up; next, a parallel second line is set up to create a line for the opposed form wall; then a measuring tape must be used to fine tune the distance between the opposed form boards as upright side wall form support stakes are driven into place and top cleats are nailed in place; finally separate brace stakes are placed to hold the form in place; this is a labor time consuming process.
Once poured and partially set, it is usual to use a hand float or a screed board to additionally smooth the concrete surface in order to provide a relatively flat, smooth surface for the placement of a set of wooden mud sill boards that are to be anchored atop the stem wall by a series of anchor bolts, washers and nuts that project from the foundation and up through a series of predrilled holes in the mud sills; the fewer the projections above and across the forms the better because it makes the screeding and hand floating easier, faster and more effective.
Anything impeding easy access to the cement for the finishing results in increased labor cost because of an additional time spent in the finishing process; these impeding elements also increase a chance that a poorly finished top surface may cause an interference with a proper alignment and leveling of the mud sill boards.
A series of anchor bolts, also commonly known as Anchor bolts are used in the stem walls for a provision of a secure connection to a wooden sill plate to which a super imposed structural element can then be attached. Building codes commonly dictate the following: 1. a minimal width of a cement stem wall foundation; 2. a selected spacing between anchor bolts within the cement along a length of the stem wall foundation; 3. a diameter of bolt as well as a length of that bolt that must be locked within the concrete; 4. a vertical location of the bolt within and relative to an edge of the cement foundation; 5. further, a threaded section of the anchor bolt must project for an appropriate length above the foundation such that a washer and nut can be affixed to the bolt atop a sill plate or other such base structural member. When placed in accord with these dictated parameters the anchor bolts can best serve a purpose of an adequate holding of the superstructure onto the stem wall foundation element.
As well as dictating the width of the stem wall foundation, building codes also commonly dictate a width of an appropriate bottom sill plate needed for a specific wall type in both residential and commercial construction projects. An across the top width of six inches is commonly used as a conventional minimal stem wall foundation. This means that the distance between the inside aspect of the laterally placed foundation form boards must have a minimal distance of 6.inches between them in most instances. Some buildings and uses may demand a wider topped foundation, but walls requiring use of either a 2.times.4 or 2.times.6 sized sill plate conventionally rest on a six inch top width cement foundation; the term “conventional foundation” will be used to describe a cement foundation having a six inch top width in the remainder of this application.
It is common practice to utilize a template or a jig of some type to facilitate a proper placement and stabilization of a series of anchor bolts within a foundation form. Problems faced in accurately situating the anchor bolts include the following: one or more of the bolts may rotate during the concrete pouring process, displacing the base of the “j component from its ideal location, thus rendering the anchorage less stable; or the bolts may float upwards leading to a need to use additional washers to secure the sill plate; this also leads to an inadequate depth of Anchor bolt being situated within the stem wall; if due to an improper support, an anchor bolt settles too far downwards an increased difficulty is experienced in an attachment of the sill plate atop the stem wall.
In other instances, improper support of the anchor bolt within the form, the forces of the pouring and settling processes used with the cement material may tip the bolts out of the true vertical, making the placement of the sill plate over the bolts more difficult, and in some cases weakening the fixation of the anchor bolt within the cement stem wall which is some cases may be called a mud sill. Another common problem is a fouling of the threaded ends of the Anchor bolts with hardened cement material where they project upwards from the top of the stem wall; once hardened it is necessary to remove the cement from the threads in order to insure a level seating of the sill plate and to provide a secure pressure of the washer and nut down onto the top of the sill plate; failure to do so can create a series of problems in the levels of walls that reflect up into and create defects well up into the upper levels of the building.
Various devices have been developed to improve the efficiency and manner of situating the anchor bolts during the set up for and during the cement pouring process. Examples of such devices include: US Application 2006/0016140 (Smith); U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,225,589 (Smith); 4,261,544 (Addison); 7,487,597 (Diaz); 5,060,436 (Delgado Jr.); 5,240,224 (Adams); 5,407,182 (Hartley); 5,337,534 (Nasca); 7,103,984 (Kastberg); 4,932,818 (Garwood); (6,922,968 (Behlen), 5,388,804 (Cohen); 3,150,429 (Shaffer); 3,552,734 (Severino).
Issues include the cost of the devices; the difficulty involved in using some of the prior art devices, especially as that relates to time and labor costs, but also in terms of creating the greatest accuracy of placement and retention of the anchor bolts with the greatest ease. Another issue is the protection of the exposed bolt threads from being fouled by cement.
For greatest cost effectiveness, an important factor in any construction project, an anchor bolt holder would preferably be reusable, easily affixed and removed and capable of holding the anchor bolt in the selected position at the selected top end elevation while protecting the threads of the anchor bolt from being fouled by cement during pouring; then, the bolt holder device would be of an easily removable nature, allowing a finishing of the partially cured cement of the stem wall, and easily prepared for a reuse with a minimal cleanup effort.
Another desirable feature would be for the anchor bolt holder to afford a manner of visually situating and keeping the tops of the paired form boards at the appropriate separation from each other. Another feature would be a design that allows placement of the external form bracing stakes at a point coincident with the lateral ends of an anchor bolt holder device without interference from the bolt holders, thus providing a reduction of the number of elements projecting above the form boards and making the pouring, settling and finishing steps easier to perform.
If the design allows of easy removal of the bolt holder while leaving the bracing stakes in place, a hand floating and minor finishing around the top portions of the bolt that project above the concrete is easier to perform.